World's Finest Romance
by KonFan78
Summary: Her life in ruins, former Batgirl Cassandra Cain goes to the Himalayan Mountains seeking solitude. While picking up the pieces of her shattered life she reminisces about her friendship with Superboy aka Kon-El and must make a choice. Will she be the killer she was raised to be, or the hero he believed she was?
1. Chapter 1

The Kon-El version of Superboy created by Karl Kesel and Tom Gurmmett is hands down my favorite comic book character of all time. I was with him from the beginning, to his rebooted Lex/Clark love child origin, untimely death, return and ultimate disappearance after the New 52. Was always intrigued by what could have been between him and the Cassandra Cain version of Batgirl, so here's my take.

World's Finest Romance?

Disclaimer: The characters of Connor Kent and Cassandra Cain aka Kon-El and Sandy aka Superboy and Batgirl, and anyone else mentioned therein, are not mine but belong to DC; I'm just taking them out for a brief spin.

CHAPTER 1

In a small valley hidden within the Himalayan Mountains, spring has arrived. The sound of song birds mixes naturally with that of snow melt filling dried creek beds. It is here we find a young woman practicing a two sword kata, the sound of steel singing with her every movement. Raised to be an assassin from infancy, she was one of the best. Until Batman and his partner Oracle offered her another life, that of a vigilante named Batgirl who aided Batman in his war against organized crime in Gotham City.

It was a life she was good at and in which she found a sense of satisfaction. A life she enjoyed, until it was ripped away from her by Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke the Terminator. Wilson was considered the deadliest mercenary in the world, but to her he would soon be another mark, one who would suffer from an untimely and most agonizing demise.

"And then everything will be right as rain. 'Cause nothing makes the sun shine brighter than some good ol' fashioned revenge, right, Sandy?" A young man standing nearby said, watching her perform her kata.

Sandy didn't look in his direction or miss a beat of her kata. "You're not really here."

"Course I am. Remember when we first met, and Batman told you not to go after the psycho Dr. guy, but you did and I followed you, and we almost blew it and let the Dr. get away with that bio weapon he was gonna sell to some terrorist, but we caught him and Bats was furious you didn't follow orders, and I told him whatever punishment he had for you I wanted half, and….."

"Kon, shut up". Sandy sheathed her ninjato.

Kon smiled. "Remember what you asked me later that night?"

"Of course I do." Sandy's voice softened.

" _You disobeyed orders and compromised the mission. What have I taught you about the mission?" Batman stood in front of his protégé, hands behind his back._

 _Sandy sighed. "Work as a team, follow orders, improvise when necessary, complete the mission at all costs." Batman was being hard on her, but Sandy knew it was because her past as an assassin made him nervous whenever she "improvised"._

 _Batman turned his attention to Superboy, slouching against a wall on the roof of one of Gotham City's many warehouses lining the shipping docks. "And you. Go home. You've done enough damage here."_

" _No."_

Wait, did he just? He wouldn't dare _thought Sandy._

" _What was that?" Batman turned and faced the Superboy._

" _No. If Batgirl messed up, then so did I. And I want half." Superboy kicked off the wall and stood to his full height and locked eyes with Batman._

" _You want half? Fine, be here, tomorrow, 4 AM sharp. If you have plans for the weekend, cancel them." Batman leaped off the roof and used the gliding capabilities of his cape to soar into the night sky._

Impressive _Sandy thought. Besides Oracle she couldn't remember ever seeing someone stand up to Batman before. "Why?" Sandy asked Superboy, as he looked at her with a smug smile on his face._

" _I just talked my way into spending the weekend with a gorgeous lady. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. By the way, Kon" Superboy put his hand out._

 _Sandy looked at his hand, then back at him and very puzzled asked. "Kon?"_

" _It's my name, Kon-El. It's Kryptonian. Superman gave it to me." Kon was still holding his hand out._

 _"Cassandra" Sandy shook Kon's hand._

" _Nice to meet you, Sandy."_

" _Sandy?" Sandy gave Kon a look that would make most grown men cry. Really, she's killed for less._

" _Yeah. It's a nickname, short for Cassandra. You like it, I like it, I think it fit…."_

" _Kon, shut up. Why?"_

 _And there was that smile again as Kon winked. "Cause I've got your back Sandy. I'll always have your back."_

Of course she remembered. It had been the beginning of their friendship. As she looked into Kon's blue eyes and he looked into her dark brown ones, Sandy was filled with the familiar feeling that they were both seeing past the usual walls and facades people put up, and were looking directly into each other's souls. The intensity of the moment got to her, and she turned her back on Kon.

"You're not really here, this isn't real. It's all in my head." Sadness tinged her voice as Sandy tried to get back to plotting her revenge on Wilson. The sound of Kon's laughter brought her out of any thoughts of revenge as she looked at him wondering what was so funny. As his laughter died down, he had that warm look he'd so often given her.

"My dear Sandy, of course it's in your head. Why would that mean it isn't real?"

Sandy looked affronted; she knew he was kind of a geek, but really? It had been one of his picks for movie night. "That's from Harry Potter!"

A sly smile adorning his face, and using his most sagely voice, Kon said, "Truth is truth, no matter the source."

That sounded familiar too. Intrigued, Sandy asked, "Who said that?"

"Someone very wise, who also happens to be my favorite person. You Sandy. I think you're losing your way. And like I said, I got your back, always."

Sandy began her climb up to the campsite she had called home for the last few weeks. "But you don't have my back anymore, do you, Kon? You'll never have my back again. You left me."

"Sandy, you know I didn't…"

"It doesn't matter what you want, or what I want. You're dead, I watched you die, and even you can't come back from that." Sandy knew she would have to bury Kon's voice deep inside if she was to get retribution on Wilson for what he had done to her. But, unable to help herself, Sandy turned and looked at the empty space where she imagined her friend was standing and chided herself for wasting time talking to ghosts.

Sandy meditated atop the Tibetan Plateau, at the mouth of the cave she had set up her campsite, overlooking the small hidden valley. But she took no joy in its natural beauty; she took little joy in anything since the crisis in which she'd lost Kon. It had been in the aftermath of losing her dearest friend that Wilson had attacked; in effect destroying what remained of the life she had built.

The need to get away and come to terms with the last year of her life, a year spent as a drugged puppet for Wilson, overriding any thoughts of making amends with her friends. No, not friends. Colleagues, to them she had been Batgirl, a tool to be used against the criminal element of Gotham City, but not to Kon. To him she had been a girl named Sandy.

"Now that's kinda harsh, I mean I know the Bat clan can be kinda anal and all, but didn't Oracle try to get us to go on a double date with her and Nightwing? Comes the adorably (no, not adorable) _annoyingly_ chipper voice of Kon.

"There was no way we were going on a double date." Sandy opened her eyes and cringed at the idea.

"And be honest, Oracle totally saw you as her little sister and tried to get Bats to go easy on you. In fact I remember the time…."

"Kon, shut up" Sandy closed her eyes so she could resume meditating on her revenge.

Sandy had not just sought the solitude of the mountains to plan her revenge on Wilson; it was also about mourning her friend, Kon. She needed to mourn, so she could say goodbye and not have to hear his adorably, no, _annoyingly_ chipper voice try and talk her out of her revenge.

Many knew of the international super hero Superboy, very few truly knew him, not like she did. To the world he had been Superboy, Superman's clone and protégé, but to her he was Kon. Sandy was aware that no one (Batman in particular) seemed to either understand or approve of the bond she shared with Kon, and why would they? She kept to the shadows while he shone in the sun. She rarely spoke, he never shut up. She had no super powers; he could bench press a mountain. They were opposites in many ways, yet maybe that was the key to their success "she mused".

His enthusiasm for life was infectious, and whenever she started to lose herself in the shadows, Kon would be there like her own personal sun, shining so brightly no shadow could withstand him. Only Kon could get her to accept being called a ridiculous name like Sandy. He even got her to go out dancing. Don't ask her how he did it, she was still hadn't figured it out. Sandy remembered the first time she saw Kon. He had been in Gotham City to visit Batman's other protégé, Robin, the Boy Wonder, who was Kon's good friend and frequent collaborator.

 _Sandy was on her way to join Robin for a night out patrolling the streets of Gotham City. Batman preferred that she and Robin not go out on their own. If they got in over their heads, they'd have each other for back up. Sandy found Robin on the rooftop of one of the warehouses near the docks, but did not reveal herself, as Robin was not alone._

 _Sandy climbed to the rooftop and stuck to the shadows deciding to discover the identity of Robin's companion before making a move. As she got a better look at Robin's companion, Sandy wondered why he was wearing a paper bag with what looked like ears sticking out of the top and a goofy looking face that was drawn on,_ oh wait I get it _,_ he's supposed to be Batman _she thought._

" _Come faithful sidekick, evil is asunder; let us smite it, for it is no match for the dynamic duo." The young man with the bag on his head said while using his best Shakespeare in the park voice._

" _Seriously, dude if Batman sees you…"_

" _Batman? But faithful sidekick named after a spring bird, I Am the Batman." The young man with the bag on his head exclaimed while floating off the edge of the roof._

" _Whatever Superboy, and can you keep it down. Makes it hard to go unnoticed when I'm accompanied by a six foot plus floating guy with a bag on his head." Said Robin, while Sandy wondered how Robin could let his friend continue to mock their mentor._

" _Says the guy who fights crime while dressed like a circus trapeze artist." Kon took the bag off his head. "Seriously dude, this is why I've got to get you away from the big black bat, the longer you're around him, the shorter your sense of humor gets."_

 _So this was Superboy. Using those powers of deduction she had learned from Batman, Sandy decided to see how much she could learn about Superboy. About 6'3, well built, jet black short hair, cerulean blue eyes, and what was he wearing? Blue jeans, sneakers, and a black t-shirt with a stylized red S in a diamond? Seriously? What a slacker._

" _So Rob ol' buddy ol' pal I was wondering…." Kon lightly landed next to Robin._

" _No, don't even ask" Robin crossed his arms and looked away._

" _Is she hot?" Kon asked anyway._

" _Batgirl is a martial arts expert, and very skilled at deduction. She does her job well and I respect her as a colleague." Robin responded. Kon gave Robin a look like a puppy who just wants you to play with him._

" _Insanely hot." Robin started massaging his temples._

 _Insanely hot? Oh Sandy was going to have some words with Robin later._

" _I knew it." Superboy fist bumped the air. "So when do I get to meet her?"_

" _Never, Batman does not want her hanging around Metas." Robin shook his head._

" _Metas?" Superboy turned slowly in the air until he was upside down. "Oh you mean Batman doesn't want Batgirl hanging out with humans born with the meta gene that grants them powers? Well then good thing I'm a Kryptonian, so not applicable to me." Superboy pointed at himself with both thumbs._

" _Anyone with super powers. Batman barely tolerates me hanging out with you." Robin looked out over the docks._

" _Yeah Bat's can be a real party pooper. Well Rob it's been fun but time for me to head out, you know gotta go fight for truth, justice, and babes in bikinis everywhere." Kon started floating further up in the air._

" _So have you topped Mach 4 yet?" Robin asked._

" _Dude, I barely topped Mach 3 during that whole Metallo fiasco. But I will by the end of the year, so next time Bats lets you use the jet. It's on."_

 _Superboy was suddenly gone and Sandy heard a sonic boom in the distance._

" _Oh man, where is she? Batgirl better not be late" Robin said out loud and looked at his watch._

" _She is here" Sandy said into Robin's ear, getting a kick out of startling him. She respected Robin and Sandy thinks they make a good team, but Batman's two protégés also enjoy one upping each other on occasion, call it a friendly rivalry._

 _Robin turned quick as a whip. "Uh how long have you been there?" Robin asked, and Sandy looked at Robin with a stoic expression for an uncomfortably long time before answering._

" _Insanely hot"._

" _Oh man." Robin put a hand to his face._

 _Oh yeah, Sandy was going to enjoy this._

 _He's cocky, disrespectful, arrogant, and seems to rely far too much on his power_ Sandyhad thought of Kon at the time. Something about Kon had rubbed her the wrong way that night. She remembers asking Robin why he was friends with someone who could be so disrespectful towards their mentor. Robin had been deep in thought for a while before answering _it's hard to explain, but if you ever get to know him, you'll get it._ She hadn't understood then, but when Kon joined her for Batman's punishment she got what Robin meant. Well not while they did the punishment, more afterwards.

" _Man that was brutal, is Bats always that sadistic, or did he bring his A game just for me?" asked Kon as the two heroes sat on a park bench having just completed Batman's punishment._

" _We are not all born with great power such as Superman's or yours. Some of us must train to substitute skill for a lack of power. Batman's punishment was meant to help us hone those skills."_

" _Really? And here I thought he just had a bad case of hemorrhoids." Kon gave Sandy a sideways glance to see her reaction._

" _Kon, shut up" Sandy could tell Kon took it as a victory that she was grinning._

" _I wasn't born you know" Said Kon as he stood and stretched one tricep then the next._

His biceps are pretty, wait did I just, focus _Sandy thought. "What do you mean?"_

" _You said not everyone is born with power like mine or Superman's. But I wasn't born, I was grown in a test tube. I'm the closest thing to Superman modern science could come up with"._

" _Closest?"_

" _Yep, yep."_

" _As his clone shouldn't you be identical to Superman?" Asked Sandy interested, she'd always assumed Kon was a genetic duplicate of the Man of Steel._

" _Half of my DNA comes from Superman, the other half from a human donor the director at Cadmus picked." Kon revealed._

" _Does that mean you have different abilities than Superman?"_

" _I can do everything Superman can, just not as much. Being half Kryptonian means I don't absorb solar radiation as fast as Superman, so I'm not as powerful. But there was one unintended side effect to having human DNA. I have an ability Superman doesn't." Kon winked._

" _Tactile Telekinesis?"_

" _Right, you've done your homework huh? Can't say I'm surprised, Bats probably had you and Robin studying me just in case we ever teamed up, or you had to take me down, right?." Kon asked Sandy._

 _Sandy looked into Kon's eyes as she stood and answered truthfully "yes". She saw no sense lying about the obvious._

" _Want to see how my TK works" Kon held his hand out._

" _Alright" Sandy took the offered hand._

 _And just like that, Sandy found herself floating high above the Gotham City skyline in Kon's arms, she briefly wondered if this was what teleportation felt like._

" _Using my TTK, I can augment my strength and invulnerability. I can also use it to create a protective field around you, so we can do this." Kon began flying north, slowly at first, but quickly he began flying so fast it all became a blur._

 _Sandy was impressed, she heard a few sonic booms and should have been freezing moving at those speeds, but it was as smooth a ride as any she'd been on. She could also feel heat coming off Kon's body keeping her warm. Sandy had read from Batman's files that Kryptonians have a higher body temperature than humans. They soon landed in an empty alley behind some buildings._

" _Good thing Bats had us undercover, no need to change out of attention grabbing costumes that show off everything" Kon gave Sandy the once over._

" _Where are we?" Sandy looked for a street sign though she knew they were no longer in Gotham City,_ Batman was not going to be happy about this _she thought._

" _Brooklyn" Kon spread his arms out in a grand gesture._

" _New York?" Sandy asked, kind of shocked, how fast could he fly anyway, she thought he could barely go over Mach 3, but he must've been flying closer to Mach 4 to get them to New York that fast._

" _Yep, check it out Sandy, Hay Rosie Craft Ice Cream Co. The like bestes Ice Cream ever, and you are so trying one of their Barn Burger ice cream sandwiches, my treat." Kon grinned while hoping up and down with a childlike enthusiasm that Sandy found kind of adorable (wait, she's a former assassin current vigilante who strikes fear in the hearts of criminals, she finds nothing adorable)._

 _Sandy did not expect to eat four Barn Burger ice cream sandwiches (hey there good ok) while sitting atop the Statue of Liberty. Guess it paid having a friend who could fly, and whose excess body heat meant as long as they sat close she was comfortable despite the wind._

" _Why?" Sandy asked Kon._

" _Huh?"_

" _Why does only half of your DNA come from Superman and not all?"_

" _Oh, well Cadmus did try to make a 100% clone of Superman, twelve times actually but they were all genetically unstable and died almost immediately. I'm the 13_ _th_ _attempt. It was decided to try and use human DNA to stabilize the alien DNA and fill in the gaps since Supe's Kryptonian DNA was too complex to fully decipher." Kon explained through mouthfuls of his own Barn Burger Ice Cream sandwich._

" _And that's how the best scientific minds at the secret government program Project Cadmus came up with a viable clone of Superman to be used as their very own biological weapon. Too bad for them I could hear what they were saying from my incubation tube. Some of the staff called me the weapon, can you believe that?" "Like that's all there was to me. They also implanted all sorts of knowledge into my head telepathically, stuff like science, languages, history, and a bunch of other subjects. But once I heard them talking about implanting code words into my brain so they could control me, that's when I decided to bust loose." Kon had what Sandy thought was a nostalgic smile on his face._

" _Cadmus did try and catch me, but too bad for them I ran into Superman before they had a chance. Supes and I went back to Cadmus, destroyed all the DNA samples and research, then Supes told Director Westfield, all while he's eyes are glowing red he's so mad mind you, that if they came after me or tried cloning him or using his DNA to create weapons again, he'd shut them down permanently. Pretty cool huh." Kon wiped his hands clean on a napkin and stood up. "So how about you Sandy? Where did you learn all those cool ninja skills of yours?" Kon asked innocently._

" _David Cain" Sandy also stood._

" _The master assassin Batman beat up, who's currently serving several life sentences at Black Gate prison?"_

" _He took me when I was an infant. I have no memory of my life before, of my family or where I came from. David wanted to train the perfect assassin, he thought starting young would give him optimal results. He raised me in Nepal, in the Himalayas." Kon took Sandy into his arms and began flying back to the Gotham. "As you can imagine growing up in the increased altitude meant my strength, speed, and stamina are at their optimal levels." Sandy noticed a commonality between them. "I guess we were both created to be weapons."_

" _So what happened to your family?"_

" _It would only be speculation, but I think David killed them so as not to leave any loose ends." Sandy responded with no emotion in her voice, looking off into the distance._

" _What was it like? The training?"_

" _Did you ever watch the movie Ninja Assassin?" Sandy made eye contact with Kon._

" _Yeah"_

" _That would've been easy in comparison!"_

Over the course of several ice cream meetings (they were not dates and Sandy was sticking to that) Sandy revealed some of the details of her upbringing under David Cain. Details like Cain never speaking to Sandy when she was a child, or making her hunt and gather her own food to make her a better predator. The aim being that Sandy developed a hyper sensitivity to reading body language. She was so good at reading body language most people thought Sandy was telepathic.

Sandy learned that Kon was a good listener, and seemed very good at sensing when it was time to stop and find a lighter topic when their talks became too dark. Sandy wondered if it had been a good idea to share so much with Kon (she knew Batman would not approve) but a peculiar incident convinced her that it had been the right call.

Sandy found out that someone had broken in to Black Gate Prison leaving no trace of having done so. Well one trace, a black blur was seen on a surveillance video entering David Cain's cell. Cain had been found shortly after in said cell unconscious with his head shoved into his toilet and written into his wall were the words "Bet you wish you'd flushed huh?" Sandy smiled at the memory; she knew who was responsible though they never talked about it. Sandy thought it was a sweet gesture. Someone who didn't think it was a sweet gesture was Batman.

 _As Sandy entered the Batcave, she could see Batman was studying surveillance video from Black Gate Prison, crap thought Sandy as she figured out what this conversation was going to be about._

" _You heard what happened to David Cain?" asked Batman never taking his eyes off the giant monitor in front of him, all the while typing away in the keyboard bringing up information on the multiple cases they were working on._

" _Yes"._

" _We both know who did it, so please do not insult my intelligence by denying it. And so you know, I've informed Superman of the boy's actions."_

" _I never asked him to do it."_

" _I know that as well, if you had you would not be worthy of being Batgirl, and this conversation would be very different." Batman stopped typing and turned his chair to face Sandy._

" _The boy may be well intentioned, but he is also reckless and lacks the responsibility and forethought that we cannot afford to be without. So I'm asking you, to please stop seeing him." Batman stood and locked eyes with Sandy._

 _Sandy sighed; this was not what she wanted. She liked Kon and enjoyed their ice cream hang outs (they were so not dates). Kon's warm personality was something she was not used to but found enjoyable, however, being Batgirl meant too much to her._

" _Very well" Sandy accepted Batman's request, never breaking eye contact._

" _Thank you" Batman turned and went back to his chair and his work._

"Yeah I remember how you blew me off and ignored me for a few months after that whole Black Gate fiasco. But you know what, totally worth it to see Cain gargle his own toilet water. Besides deny it all you want, I know you thought it was a sweet gesture." Kon's voice brought Sandy out of yet another failed meditation on her killing of Wilson.

"Kon, shut up" Sandy grinned. Hey, it was kind of funny thinking of Cain gargling toilet water.

16

 _Author's Note: Any constructive critisism and questions are most welcomed._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As Slade Wilson falls to his knees holding his stomach, only one thought goes through his mind, he will bleed out soon unless he gets medical attention.

"How does it feel Wilson?" Sandy brought the blade of her ninjato to Wilson's throat.

"You can't do this." Wilson shouted. "You're a hero for God's sake." Wilson clutches his stomach, trying to slow the bleeding.

As Sandy raises the blade of her sword over her head and readies to decapitate her prey, she can't help but wonder what Kon would say if he could see her now?

"Yo Sandy" Kon shouts in his best Travolta imitation.

"Not now Kon I, wait what are you wearing?" Sandy lowers the ninjato to her side. She was not expecting Kon to be in a leather jacket or his hair to be greased.

"Uh duh, it's a 50's theme dance. Were gonna have so much fun. Hope you're ready for the Bop, the Swing, the Madison, and some Cha Cha Cha." Kon twirled and began dancing with a mock partner.

"It's called Cha Cha."

"Well I threw in the extra Cha cause after we're done, it'll never be the same again." Kon winked at his friend and flashed her that roguish grin of his.

Sandy opens her eyes and sighs. Well that's another botched meditation on how she was going to kill Wilson. _Damn it Kon_. Well it's not like it's the first time Kon's helped Sandy from going too far over the edge.

Flashback:

" _Easy girl, I'm not going to fight you." Black Wind spoke into the darkness of an alley, out of which came Sandy in full Batgirl gear. "You're magnificent, like a wisp of smoke, a sliver of night. I'd give anything to see your face."_

 _The tall, handsome young man with long jet black hair in a braid and olive skin gave Sandy an appreciative once over. As he looked at her she couldn't help but feel that he was looking directly into her soul. To the darkness inside that matched his own._

" _Who are you?" Sandy asked a little shaken by the intensity of the young man's gaze._

" _Tai Darshan, the Black Wind". The young man with dark eyes said before a bus drove by, he jumped on the roof, and got away._

 _Later:_

 _In the Batcave Batman, Oracle, and Sandy all watch a surveillance video on the giant monitor which showed Sandy in conversation with an assassin she had been sent to capture. The assassin made his escape and Sandy did not give chase._

 _Oracle turned to Sandy in her wheelchair. "So what was all that about?"_

" _He wouldn't fight." Sandy closed her eyes and lowered her head, knowing she had disappointed her mentors._

" _What did he say to you Cass?" Oracle asked and Sandy could see Oracle was trying to understand what she just saw. It was not like Sandy to just let a criminal walk away._

" _His name, Black Wind."_

" _What is he doing in Gotham?" Batman broke his silence._

" _Well I doubt he's here for the scenery." Oracle rolled her wheel chair to the computer and began typing. "Hold on, listen to this. Wealthy business tycoon Vilom Namali is here to promote foreign investment in Kahazakstan. A country our friend a meta human named Tai Darshan aka the Black Wind has been actively trying to destabilize."_

" _And you let him go?" Batman turned to Sandy, disappointment evident in his voice._

" _I'm…sorry" Sandy looked away from her mentor's gaze._

" _What did he say to you?" Batman pressed._

" _Um…Cass, why don't you go hit the weight room for a while. Bruce and I need to talk." Oracle asked Sandy while staring daggers at Batman. Sandy did as asked, and when the door closed behind her Sandy heard Oracle take the direct approach with Batman. "Damn it Bruce, you told her not to take on Metahumans."_

" _That's not why she let him go." Batman immediately took the wind out of Oracle's attack._

" _What do you mean?"_

" _Something happened between her and this Black Wind tonight and she won't tell us what." She's hiding something Barbara."_

" _Oh for God's sake Bruce, she worships you! She'd do anything for your approval."_

" _Look at them." Batman pointed at the monitor. "What do you see?"_

 _As she looked Oracle did see something pass between Black Wind and Sandy, though she was sure her take would be different than Batman's._

" _I see a nineteen year old girl who's over her head. A lonely child with a lot of bad memories and a life full of pain. She needs a break, Bruce. A real holiday with normal people, a chance to do some growing up."_

 _Later:_

 _In a cruise ship sailing along the Atlantic Ocean, Sandy shared a cabin with Oracle and could tell her mentor was thankful Batman consented to give them some time off._

" _Why are we here?" asked a disgruntled Sandy sitting on her bed. She wanted to get back to Gotham and redeem herself in Batman's eyes by taking down the Black Wind, that was the reason she wanted to find him and she was sticking to it._

" _Look Cass, there's more to life than training and fighting and you know, the whole Bat thing." Oracle was unpacking her clothes. "You need to take a break now and then, recharge your batteries. Otherwise you'll lose your edge and start making mistakes. Trust me Cass I should know. I was Batgirl once upon a time. Until the Joker put a bullet in my spine and left me in this wheelchair. Even Bruce has a life outside of the Batcave."_

" _What is it like? His life?" Sandy always wondered what her mentor got up to in his spare time._

" _Ok bad example just put on the bikini and let's hit the pool." Oracle threw a hangar with a two piece yellow polka dot bikini that Sandy caught._

" _I look stupid." Sandy sat in full lotus position on a beach chair next to Oracle by the pool._

" _Well, that's not the first word that comes to mind. Gorgeous is the word that comes to mind Cass. You're 5'7, 150 Lbs. and built like Ronda Rousey, just sit back and let the moths come to the light." Oracle gave her protégé a teasing grin._

" _Did he agree to this?"_

" _Bruce? Well not the bikini, but the cruise was his idea. He booked the tickets and everything."_

 _Just then a volleyball rolled under Oracle's chair and a shirtless young man in shorts with sunglasses on approached the two women. "Hi, I'm Carl." The young man waved at the two women._

" _So you want to join our game? We could use another body on the volleyball court." Carl looked at Sandy._

" _Go ahead Cass, run along and make some friends. I'll be fine." Oracle winked at Sandy. Sandy stood._

" _Wow, she's something else huh." Carl watched as Sandy turned her back on them and walked away._

" _You have no idea." Oracle sighed._

 _Later:_

" _We need to talk." Oracle wheeled into the gym as Sandy was punishing a punching bag. "I just wish you'd try to have some fun for once, normal fun. Take that guy by the pool, he was cute and he liked you."_

" _Carl?" Sandy stopped hitting the bag. "He has a way of moving. I recognize it."_

" _Of course, you can read body language." Oracle took her glasses off._

" _When he looks at me, I…" Sandy left the sentence unfinished as she turned her back on Oracle and placed a hand on the punching bag._

" _You know exactly what he's thinking and feeling?"_

" _It makes me feel….bad." Sandy rested her forehead on the punching bag, eyes closed._

" _I should never have made you wear the stupid bikini. What do you say we go back to the cabin and change for dinner?" Oracle said bringing her wheelchair next to Sandy._

" _Sounds like a plan." Sandy smiled, she liked the idea of food._

 _Later:_

" _So Cass, I was wondering. You and Superboy went out for ice cream a few times and you seemed to have fun right?" Oracle eyed the dessert cart that was making its way toward them._

" _Yes" Sandy said through a mouthful of linguini, several empty plates stacked next to her._

" _How did Superboy look at you?"_

" _Not the way Carl or Black Wind do. Kon is attracted to me, but there is also a warmth to him. He is lonely and seeks a connection, though I don't understand why with me?" She had never understood that about Kon. Why her? They were so different._

" _Huh guess there's more to that boy than meets the eye." Oracle mumbled as she took the strawberry cheesecake handed to her. "Well the two of you do have a lot in common." Sandy gave her a confused look. "David Cain raised you to be a weapon. Superboy was created by Cadmus to be a weapon. Neither of you had a normal childhood, and both of you were just sort of dumped into the world as teens, with all this knowledge but very little experience." Oracle took a bit of her cheesecake._

" _It doesn't matter, Batman does not want me to socialize with Kon anymore."_

" _Well I may need to have a conversation with Bruce about that." Oracle narrowed her eyes and wiped her mouth._

 _Sandy saw someone familiar a few tables away, she better tell Oracle. "Vilom Namali is in the dining hall."_

" _Namali?" Oracle turned in the direction Sandy was looking. "The guy Black Wind was after in Gotham? On this ship? Cass we better, Cass? Damn it." Sandy was gone. If Namali was on board it was a good bet Black Wind was too. This was no coincidence, Batman set this up. He must've known Namali would be on board. Fine if that's how Batman wanted to play, she could throw a monkey wrench into the situation too. Oracle wheeled out onto the deck of the ship and got her phone from her purse to make a call. Phone call made Oracle waited out on the deck and smiled as she heard a sonic boom high up in the sky._

 _Later:_

 _Sandy stood atop the dining hall on the roof under the dim light of the full moon and waited. She was dressed in a black cocktail dress (why did she listen to Oracle?) no sense changing, she was sure Black Wind had already made her out._

" _Little Black Bat" Black Wind suddenly appeared next to Sandy._

" _I recognized you right away. A woman like you stands out in a crowd." Black Wind gave Sandy an appreciative gaze. "At last I get to see your face. You are even more beautiful than I imagined." Black Wind said with a sincerity that startled her and Sandy could feel her resolve to take him down falter._

" _Don't…Don't touch me." Sandy said softly as Black Wind moved closer._

" _As I've said before, I don't want to fight you." Black Wind said with a softness that Sandy found odd coming from a killer._

" _What do you want?" They were so close, she could see the features of his face clearly in the moonlight._

" _You know what I want." Black Wind whispered, if either moved forward slightly they would be locked in a kiss. As the two young warriors shared a moment, Sandy couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to reach out and experience her first kiss. Black Wind stepped back, ending their moment. "I'm here for Namali. He is an enemy of my people, and a war criminal. I would see him brought to justice."_

" _Justice?" asked a skeptical Sandy, all business now that the moment was over._

" _It's what I do little Bat. I am the Black Wind, spirit of my people's vengeance. But why are you here? I don't understand why someone like you would protect a man like Namali?_

" _I am not protecting him."_

" _Then why are you here?"_

" _Holiday."_

" _Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Well then enjoy your holiday, duty calls." Black Wind gave Sandy a salute and jumped off the roof and landed on the deck. Black Wind gathered his men for their assault on the dining hall as Sandy watched from the rooftop._

 _Sandy ripped off a portion of her cocktail dress and made a makeshift mask, her mind made up. Sandy was not going to let Batman down again, she jumped down to the deck and went after Black Wind._

 _Later:_

 _In the large dining hall all the occupants had been moved to one end while Namali was placed at the other end by himself. Understandably the passengers were in shock at having a group of armed men storm their cruise ship and a low murmur could be heard as they tried to make sense of the scene._

" _You there, turn on your camera. I want this recorded." Black Wind ordered one of the passengers, who was quick to obey. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain calm. This is not a terrorist attack. It is a legitimate act of self-defense by my people." Black Wind began his speech to his audience both here and those that would be watching from home once the video went viral. "My people are a peaceful nation who have lived in the northern slopes of Kahazakstan for centuries. We have never invaded anyone, never built an empire or colonized indigenous peoples."_

" _Yet for centuries we have suffered oppression at the hands one criminal state after another. First the Russian Tsars, then the Soviets, and now the government of Kahazakstan drives us from our land. All in the name of oil." Black Wind pointed at Namali. "Now this criminal, who has aided and abated the enemies of my people will face justice. Fire." Black Wind gave the order and his men began shooting at Namali with their automatic weapons. But something curious happened, not only was Namali unharmed, the bullets caused no damage to anything._

" _Did someone say justice?" Both the crowd and Black Wind's group looked for the source of the voice, and saw a young man floating in the air as if he were laying in a hammock. "Y'know you guys have gotta be the biggest party poopers ever to poop a party. And believe me, I've seen some seriously pooped parties." Kon lay lazily in the air with his eyes closed as if taking a nap._

" _What the hell is that?" asked one of Black Winds men to another._

" _Looks like Superman if he got his costume from a second hand store." Answered the other._

 _Kon suddenly appeared in front of said henchmen. "Hey, this is top of the line denim buddy, and the shoes, uh Jordan's duh. And the t-shirt, Hot Topic, hardly second hand bro, their stuff is quality." Kon pointed to the different parts of his outfit._

" _Leave him to me, concentrate on Namali." Black Wind was a metahuman who possessed enhanced speed and strength, he'd always wondered how he would stack up against Superman, what better first step than to see how he did against this inferior version of the great hero. "Well, this is unexpected. I suppose I should thank you for making this mission a little more, interesting." Black Wind eyed his opponent warily. Black Wind was no fool, he knew the boy was faster than him, evidenced by the way he stopped all those bullets and all anyone saw was a blur._

" _Why thank you, it makes my night complete knowing that I've brought a little joy into the life of a world famous assassin like the great Breaking Wind." Kon had a half grin as he floated to the ground, only a few feet away from Black Wind._

" _You dare insult me. Petulant child my name is the Black Wind. I am the spirit of my people's…"_

" _No dude, I've got a super sense of smell, and trust me you are Breaking Wind. Betting someone wishes he'd skipped the 7 Eleven burritos huh." Kon now flashed a cocky smirk._

" _I'm going to kill you." Black Wind locked eyes with Kon, all traces of the charming young freedom fighter gone. Only the ruthless assassin was left, fully committed to killing this freak of science before him._

" _You and what army?" Kon cracked his knuckles, the half-smile never leaving his face._

 _Later:_

 _Black Wind had to admit this was not going the way he hoped. He threw everything he had at the boy but had yet to land anything. Every punch, knee, kick and elbow were blocked, parried, or outright dodged, confirming what Black Wind already knew, the boy's speed was far superior to his own. Black Wind felt encouraged by the fact that the boy had not thrown a single punch, he couldn't Black Wind thought as he had been all offense attacking constantly, keeping the boy on the defensive. Seeing an opening Black Wind maneuvered Kon so his back was to one of the columns in the hall and then threw a punch meant to take the boys head off, but hit the column instead, which came down from the force of the punch. Black Wind then turned and looked at the boy who stood a few feet away, that same cocky half grin on his face he'd had since they began._

" _You can't run forever boy, sooner or later I'll catch you. Word of advice, you might want to throw a punch here or there….AAAHG". Black Wind didn't get to finish that sentence, his hands were now covering his broken nose. Black Wind stared angrily at the boy whose fist was still in the place where it connected with his face._

" _Word of advice, careful what you wish for. Oh and here's a freebee, when someone throws a punch at you….duck you goose." Kon grinned at his opponent while some of the hostages cringed, "That was bad." One hostage said out loud. "Everyone's a critic. Listen Breaking Wind buddy, what say we call it a night, cause this is getting painful, more for you than me. And hey you turn that frown upside down bud, cause I think you're a valiant if inadequate foe."_

 _Black Wind launched himself at Kon with a roar and threw a punch with all his might that connected with Kon's face causing a loud crunching sound, which was the sound of all the bones in Black Wind's hand shattering on impact. As Black Wind cradled his hand he couldn't help but wonder just how powerful Superman was if this knock off was causing him so much trouble. "I once knocked out a charging rhino with that punch, you didn't even blink. What are you?"_

" _Bored now. Hey Breaking Wind buddy, you a fan of Bruce Lee, I'm a fan of Bruce Lee. Remember his one inch punch?" Kon brought his right fist an inch from Black Wind's chest._

 _Black Wind skidded to a halt at the other end of the dining hall and gingerly got to his feet. Black Wind couldn't help but marvel at the power of that punch, he'd never been hit that hard. Add a couple of broken ribs to go with the nose was the thought going through his head as Black Wind tried to figure out how to get himself out of this situation._

 _Black Wind looked to his men, hoping that at least the beating he was taking gave them the time to kill Namali, so this whole endeavor wouldn't be a total loss. What he saw was his little Bat standing and all his men lying on the ground unconscious, guess she's made her choice Black Wind thought angrily._

 _Later:_

 _Sandy had been as shocked as everyone else when Kon stopped the bullets and saved Namali. Deciding to wait for the right moment to begin her attack, Sandy took out Black Wind's men when the assassin attacked Kon. Sandy admired Black Wind's determination, battered and outmatched though he was, there he stood defiant to the end._

" _Surrender, it's over." Sandy did not want to hurt Black Wind._

" _Death first little Bat" Black Wind got into a fighting stance._

 _Sandy decided to end this quickly and charged Black Wind throwing a kick to his face. A kick which was caught and Black Wind used the momentum to spin Sandy around and throw her into a wall, with the force to kill her on impact. Luckily for Sandy her impact was not only cushioned but her momentum redirect by a certain blur. When she regained her senses Sandy noticed she was in Kon's arms._

" _Hello mysterious masked girl who kicks butt like the greatest kung fu master in human recorded history." Kon greeted Sandy, and yes he did say that in one breath, would have said more but._

 _"Kon, shut up. Why are you here?" Sandy never took her eyes off Black Wind._

" _I got your back Sandy, by the way love the dress." Kon winked and smiled. "This something you need to do?"_

" _Yes"_

" _Then kick his butt." Kon set her down and looked at Black Wind. "Someone's in trouble."_

" _Why do you defend a man like Namali? What's your game little Bat?" Black Wind and Sandy squared off._

" _Justice." Sandy began her attack._

 _Sandy was no fool, injured though he may be, Black Wind was still a dangerous opponent. As the two combatants continued their dance of striking, blocking, and parrying, Sandy found an opening and landed a spinning back kick to Black Wind's two broken ribs. Black Wind fell to his knees gasping for breath, then did something desperate. He charged at Sandy and sent both fighters crashing out of a window and into the ocean below._

 _As Sandy re surfaced she looked around in the moon light then went back under. A minute later she resurfaced again with a barely conscious Black Wind in her arms._

" _Little Bat.." Black Wind said weakly._

" _You're hurt"_

" _Yes and I can't swim. You have to let me go, or we'll both drown." Black Wind looked into Sandy's eyes._

" _No" Sandy looked into his eyes under the moon light. Sandy closed her eyes and moved closer to Black Wind, lost in the moment._

" _Wee-ooo! Wee-ooo! Flying superhero surf patrol to the rescue. We have visual contact over. Krrrkk." Kon shattered the moment as he hovered over the almost kissing couple. "Well done Bat, er I mean mysterious yet familiar crime fighter. It seems you've captured the bad guy yet again, and.."_

" _Kon, shut up." Sandy was a combined annoyed and relived._

 _Later:_

 _The next day as Oracle and Sandy waited along with all the other passengers to disembark from the ship, Sandy could read in Oracle's body language that she was feeling angry at Batman for setting them up this way. Sandy knew Oracle had really just wanted her to be able to enjoy some nice normal teenage fun. She appreciated the sentiment._

" _Maybe now we can finally have a proper holiday.."_

" _No"_

" _What, but why?"_

" _Go home." This had all been too confusing for her, Sandy just wanted to get back to what she knew, training and missions._

" _We'll fly back to Gotham on the first available flight. Damn Bat." Oracle mumbled that last part as she wheeled away to make the flight arraignments._

 _Sandy watched as down at the docks the police arrived to take Black Wind and his men into custody. "Hello Carl." Sandy greeted the young man without turning around._

" _Um, hey Cass. So I heard your friend say you two were heading back to Gotham, and um, I was just wondering if I gave you my phone number if.."_

" _Hey Sandy, what do you say we grab some ice cream sandwiches? First flight out to Gotham isn't for a few hours." Sandy noticed Kon was incognito, wearing shorts, flip flops, an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, sun glasses, and a backwards cap. "Oh hey bud, didn't see you there, Connor." Kon put his hand out to shake the other young man's hand._

" _Uh Carl." Ok Carl looked pretty intimidated thought Sandy, he just squeaked that out like a chipmunk. "So are you two.." Carl pointed from Kon to Sandy._

" _Nope, I'm just like you Carl. Throwing it out there and hoping the lady gives me a shot." Kon gave a sideways grin to Sandy._

" _Well I better go get packed, nice meeting you both." Carl made a quick getaway._

" _Why did you scare him?"_

" _What, I was polite." Sandy just stared at Kon. "Guess I'm kinda jealous you know. I can't even get you to look my way these days, but John Q Public and Breaking Wind.."._

" _Black Wind"._

" _That's what I said, Breaking Wind." Kon teased Sandy. "Anyway they get your attention, and I'm left wondering what I did wrong, since I thought we were getting along…" Kon began babbling._

 _As Kon babbled Sandy watched Black Wind get put in a police car. The young assassin looked up at her and smiled as he was taken away. "Plus I was worried you know, Breaking Wind kinda reminds me of David Cain. I just didn't want him to hurt you.." Kon continued._

 _Kon was right, Sandy thought. Black Wind was like Cain, when she got in his way Black Wind was ready to kill her._ And I was about to kiss him _Sandy thought. And it would've been her first kiss, how could she have wanted to give her first kiss to someone like that? Sandy looked at her babbling friend and finally understood why she liked having him around._ Because he's safe _Sandy thought._

 _Kon was far more powerful than David Cain or Black Wind, yet he was also far gentler and warmer. Despite all his power Kon was nervous around her, because unlike Black Wind or Carl who desired her, Kon liked her and wanted to know her. Sandy liked Kon because she was safe with him, Kon knew she'd killed, he knew what her life had been like, and he'd never judged or rejected her. Kon knew her boundaries and gently prodded but never pushed. Sandy knew she was safe to test the waters with Kon, and if she got nervous or uncomfortable she could pull away and Kon would let her go and wait patiently for her to come back to him._

" _I mean, I know you're like all serious and deep and bat like. And, and next to you, I feel like a total doofus most of the time, but…"_

" _Kon, shut up" Sandy threw her arms around Kon's neck and decided to have her first kiss. On her terms._

 _Around the corner:_

 _Around the corner an ear to ear grinning Oracle couldn't help but feel triumphant as she watched her protégé share a very tender moment with Superboy._ Take that you damned Bat _thought Oracle, and started looking forward to ripping Batman a new one over him keeping the kissing teens apart._

 _Present Day:_

As dusk turns to night in a small cave barely noticeable on the mountain wall, the only light that can be seen is of a small fire near the opening of the cave. Sandy looked into the fire and remembered that first kiss with Kon, her hand unconsciously moving to her lips. Sandy had thought that by kissing Kon the desire Black Wind had awakened in her would subside. Instead the kiss awoke something else entirely. Something she had not expected.

"One of my favorite memories."Kon warmed his hands by the fire. "Always knew you were worth the wait."

"I was curious, you were there, that's all it was."Sandy turned away from Kon and stood hugging herself.

"You did ignore me for a couple of weeks after the cruise ship."Kon rose and stood next to Sandy. "But if it was just curiosity, then why did a certain vigilante show up outside my window one lonely winter night?"

Sandy turned to Kon, eyes wide and stuttered. "It's not what you, I was, it was."

"Curiosity?"Kon looked her in the eyes. "It was so much more than that."

As Sandy looked in Kon's familiar blue eyes, her resolve falters. "Do you know what I wish? That you could hold me." A strong wind blows out the fire, leaving Sandy alone in darkness.

18


	3. Chapter 3

Apologies for the long delay between chapters. Life can get hectic sometimes. Please enjoy and any feedback is appreciated.

Chapter 3

The sound of her sword singing as it cut through the air, air that would soon be Wilson's neck, helped Sandy focus. It was a strange sound, her steel singing along with song birds in spring, mixed with the sound of snowmelt filling creeks. But though her sword was hitting air, in her mind it was hitting Wilson's sword.

Sandy could see Wilson before her, could feel her sword make contact with his through every block, parry, feint, slash, or stab. She could see the desperation in Wilson's eyes as he realized the inevitable. Sandy had a similar half smile on her face as the one she often saw on Kon. Wilson lunged making a stabbing motion which Sandy parried to the right, stepped with a pivot to her left foot and swung around in a full 360 degree turn. As Sandy sheathed her sword, Wilson's head came off his neck behind her.

 _"Still don't get why you waste so much time dancing with Wilson? When you know you'd have a lot more fun dancing with me."_ Kon standing in front of her extended a hand to Sandy, smiling at her _._

 _"This is not about fun."_ Sandy turn her back on Kon.

 _"Oh, and what is it about then?"_

 _"Retribution."_ Sandy now faces Kon _._

 _"Retribution? What about Justice?"_ Kon takes a step and now stands directly in front of Sandy.

 _"What about it?"_ Sandy asks an edge to her voice, never taking her eyes off Kon _._

 _"Once upon a time, it meant something to you."_ Kon's voice softens and his eyes never leave Sandy.

 _"People change Kon"._ Sandy backs away from him. _"Or maybe they were never what you thought they were."_ Sandy turned her back on Kon " _Maybe you were a fool for thinking a killer could ever be more than just killer."_ Sandy walked away from Kon and began her climb back to her campsite. Once she completed the climb Sandy found her cheerful friend waiting for her at the campsite.

" _You are so much more than what Cain tried to make you."_ Kon pated a spot on the rock he was sitting on and waited for Sandy to sit next to him. _"I've seen past your training, past your walls. To the woman inside, and you know what I saw?_ Kon's gaze never left her.

" _No"_ Sandy whispers, not looking at Kon next to her.

 _"A hero."_ Kon stands and extends a hand to Sandy. " _Dance with me."_

 _"But you're not here."_ Sandy avoided eye contact.

 _"Wilson's not either. If you can have a sword fight with him, you can dance with me."_ Kon's hand was still extended.

Sandy looks up into those cerulean blue eyes she knew so well, and a small smile appears on her lips and she takes the offered hand. And as she rises and closes her eyes, Sandy reached into her memory and heard the melody and lyrics of the song "Fooled Around and Fell In Love" and fondly remembered dancing with her friend in a Kansas barn one Valentine's Day what seemed like an eternity ago.

Flashback:

 _From her apartment, which had been given the name Watch Tower by Team Bat (as Superboy had taken to calling them) Oracle poured herself a cup of coffee in the kitchen then wheeled back to her office with one hand, other hand holding her coffee cup, not spilling a single drop. Her training under_ _Batman adapted to her new life as a paraplegic, handy capable being a very accurate term to describe an invaluable part of Batman's burgeoning team. Watch Tower was a computer network that had been set up by Batman in Oracle's apartment to link with their main computer in the Batcave, allowing Oracle almost unlimited access to all digital information available on the World Wide Web. Information which she turned into invaluable intelligence to Batman's team._ _And on occasion, for the Justice League._

 _Oracle frowned and put her coffee down when she reached her monitor, that reading can't be right. Batgirl's GPS tracker showed her leaving Gotham City at 70 MPH. "Batgirl, this is Oracle, tracker shows you leaving Gotham, is this accurate?"_

" _Yes"_

" _Cass, is everything alright?"_

" _Yes"_

" _Mind telling me where you're going_?" _Oracle began massaging her temples, this was a headache in the making._

" _Kansas, Smallville."_

" _Smallville, but that's where Superboy…" Oracle smiled from ear to ear._ _"Good for you Cass, Oracle out."_

 _Later:_

 _Sandy read the Kent Farm sign and knew she was in the right place. It was night and only one window showed an occupant still had his light on. Sandy easily climb to the second story of the farmhouse and looked inside the lone illuminated room, and sure enough there he was._

 _"And your crowned king nothing…" sang Kon-El as he floated in his room upside down, playing an air guitar. A knock on his window stopped his one man karaoke show. "Sandy?" Kon righted himself in the air, opened his window and let Sandy in his room. "How did you know where to find me?"_

 _"Detective." Sandy took Kon's hand and entered his room, giving it a once over._

 _"Man I really suck at this secret Id thing."_

 _"Batman helped Superman create your Connor Kent identity. Did you really think I wouldn't know?" Sandy continued looking around Kon's bedroom. A bed, desk and chair were the only furniture. "Your room is not as messy as I thought it would be." Sandy looked sideways at Kon._

 _"Yeah well if you ever saw my room in Honolulu. That looked like a typhoon hit it. But you know the Kents, not really ok with the messy."Kon rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "So Sandy, not that I'm not thrilled to have you see me in my Ninja Turtle jamies, but what brings you…"_

 _Sandy jumped into Kon's arms giving him a kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist. Kon floated backwards to avoid Sandy slamming into him (Teen of Steel remember) and the two young heroes accidentally bumped Kon's desk and knocked over his lamp._

 _"Mom." Kon stopped kissing Sandy and looked toward his door._

 _"Mom?" Oh he better not be thinking what she thinks he's thinking._

 _"What, no." Kon turned back to Sandy. "Mrs. Kent's coming, hide."_

 _"Hide? Where?"_

 _"Seriously? You're a ninja, vanish into the shadows, or whatever you guys do." Kon started making gestures with his hands, was he doing spirit fingers?_

 _"Is that the best the alien/human clone can come up with?" Sandy put her hands on her hips._

 _"In the closet, hurry." Kon got under the covers of his bed as Sandy hid in the closet just as the bedroom door opened, and in walked a woman with grey hair who looked to be in her sixties._

 _"Connor, is everything alright?_

 _"Mmm, oh Mrs Kent, sorry my TK can sometimes go off when my dreams get too intense." Kon sat up in bed, rubbed his eyes, and used his best "I just woke" up voice._

 _"You live in this house and are a part of this family now. You know what to call me." Mrs. Kent pulled the chair from Kon's desk and brought it next to the bed. "Did you have another nightmare sweetie?"_

 _"What? No mom, I, I.." Kon's eyes looked toward his closet._

 _"It's alright Connor." Mrs. Kent took Kon's hand into her own. "Valentine's Day is tomorrow, it'll be one year right?"_

 _"Yes." Kon slouched_

 _"So did you have another dream about Tana?" Mrs. Kent never took her eyes off Kon._

 _"I haven't been sleeping enough lately to dream." Kon shifted uncomfortably in his bed and looked away._

 _"Because of the dreams?" Mrs. Kent gently prodded._

 _"I wouldn't really call them dreams." Kon closed his eyes and took a deep breath._

 _"What would you call them then?"_

 _"Reliving the worst moment of my life." Kon stood and walked to his closet, where Sandy was hidden, listening._

 _"If you ever want to talk, Jonathan and I are always here for you." Mrs. Kent walked over to Kon and took both his hands in hers, getting him to turn towards her. "You don't have to mourn alone Connor."_

 _"I know, and when I'm ready, we'll talk. I'm just not ready yet." Kon avoided making eye contact._

 _"Do you need to go let out some steam?" Mrs. Kent asked with a knowing smile._

 _"Yeah, if it's ok?" Kon now made eye contact and smiled._

 _"Of course it is, have fun sweetie." Mrs. Kent gave Kon a kiss on the cheek and walked to the door. "Oh and Connor, just stay inside the state of Kansas this time."_

 _"Yes mom." Kon gently shut the door behind Mrs. Kent._

 _Sandy came out of the closet and walked up to Kon, who had his back to her and was resting his head on the door. "Kon?"_

 _"There's an Oak with a rope swing down by the barn, you should be able to find it pretty easy." Kon said with more raw emotion in his voice than Sandy had ever heard from him before. "I'll meet you there in a few minutes ok?" Kon still had his back to her._

 _"Of course." Sandy went out the window and found the Oak in the moon light easily enough._

 _Sandy sat in the rope swing, but did not have to wait long._

 _"So, remember what I could do with my Tactile Telekinesis?" Kon appeared out of thin air and Sandy noticed he was now wearing his usual blue jeans, but with a plain white t shirt instead of his usual black t shirt with a red S._

 _"No S shirt tonight?" Sandy asked and noted that Kon sounded and looked like his usual self, smiling that roguish smile of his._

 _"Gotta protect that new secret identity of mine. But back to my question, what can I do with my tactile telekinesis that Superman can't?" Kon was now floating off the ground and offered a hand to Sandy._

 _"You can control anything you are making physical contact with." Sandy wondered where Kon was going with this and took his offered hand._

 _"That's right, which means while flying with Supes feels like he's carrying you. Flying on Kon airlines is more like you're the one doing the flying, as long as we're still making physical contact." Sandy noticed that she was now also floating off the ground, but it did not feel as if she was being lifted, it more felt as if she was weightless. "Ready to go for a spin?" Sandy found Kon's impish grin adorable and enthusiasm infectious, returning his smile with her own equally enthusiastic one, she nodded her head in consent._

 _As the two heroes flew side by side holding hands, Sandy found the cool wind against her skin and the sight of her reflection looking back at her from the calm surface of a lake they were flying over in the light of the full moon exhilarating. Kon suddenly picked up speed and they flew straight up toward a rather large but lone cloud._

 _"So I can control anything solid that I touch right, but then I thought why does it have to be solid? So I started experimenting with liquids like water, and what do you know, I could control them too. And what is a cloud?" A light blue aura seemed to be emanating from Kon and his eyes began glowing blue, and Sandy noticed that the cloud around them began taking the shape of a building._

 _"Water in gas form." Sandy's eyes were the size of dinner plates as the cloud now took the shape of a castle. So in shock was she that at first Sandy didn't notice she was no longer holding Kon's hand. "Wait, how? You changed the density of the cloud?" Sandy lightly stomped her heel on the floor and it felt like brick to her._

 _"Yep, made it solid enough to stand on. I have a lot of free time out here so I've been experimenting with my powers you know. And my TK is only limited by my imagination and concentration, so I figured why not liquids? Why not gases? And so I….."_

 _"Kon, shut up." Sandy grabbed Kon's T shirt with both hands and pulled him down to her, pressing her lips to his._

 _Sandy deepened the kiss and felt Kon's hands let go of her waist and could feel he was no longer kissing her back. Sandy opened her eyes and unwrapped her arms from Kon's neck to see what was wrong._ I may be new to this, but my kissing isn't that bad? Right? _Sandy thought before going into_ _freefall._

 _Sandy could see the ground getting closer and hear the wind whistling as it passed her ears, but before she could even wonder what happened, her fall slowly decelerated then came to a halt and she found herself bridal style in a very sheepish looking Kon's arms._

 _"Yeah sorry about that, I uh need to focus when I use my TK. And my mind was way off focus just now." Kon looked away._

 _Sandy placed a hand on Kon's cheek and turned him to face her. "Was I that bad?"_

 _Kon now made eye contact with her. "What? No, no, no you were great. I've wanted to kiss you since we met." Kon turned away again and closed his eyes. "It's me Sandy. I, I.."_

 _"Is it because of Tana?" Kon now opened his eyes and smiled a smile so sad, Sandy wondered if it could even be considered a smile._ I didn't think Kon could ever look this sad, _Sandy thought and tried to get her friend to open up. "What was she to you?"_

 _"Everything." Kon now made eye contact with Sandy and it shocked her to see such a deeply wounded young man looking back at her, where was her happy go lucky friend with the sunny personality?_

 _Sandy was about to speak when she suddenly found herself back by the oak with the tire swing. Kon lite an oil lamp hanging from the tree with his heat vision and Sandy knew it was more for her benefit since he could see in the dark._

 _"What do you know about Tana?" Kon leaned back on the oak and slide down into a sitting position, back against the oak, face looking down._

 _"Tana Moon was the first journalist to report about you, though she was a student and not an actual journalist at the time. Despite her lack of experience she was hired by Edge TV since you refused to do interviews unless it was with her." Sandy crouched in front of Kon and put a hand under his chin and lifted it so he faced her._

 _"Tana broke down on national television when it appeared you had been killed in a nuclear explosion. She then resigned and moved back to her native Hawaii where she took a job with the local KONA TV station and worked her way out of their mail room through skill and hard work." Sandy sat next to Kon rested her head on his shoulder._

 _"You followed her to Honolulu, made it your home, and declared yourself the Hero of Hawaii. The Pacific Rim's most powerful criminal organization the Silicone Dragons began targeting you for assassination and failed every time. You and Tana shared a very public romance, so they targeted her."_

 _"Valentine's Day. Tana and I had been through a rough patch, but were working through it you know. She made this awesome dinner and we were at her place." Kon now turned and Sandy could see her friend was holding in tears. "She was wearing this new necklace, I didn't even think about it until she thanked me for it. When I told her it wasn't from me, I could see the wheels start turning in her head." His voice was now so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable. "She always was, very inquisitive. And that's when it happened. The necklace sent an electrical shock into her heart and fried it." Kon let out that last part in a whisper._

 _"Some hero I was." Kon now stood up and began pacing. "I never thought, it didn't cross my mind, ever that they would do something like that. How could I have been so stupid, so naïve?" Kon's voice was rising. "All this power, and what good did it do me? What good did it do her? And you wanna know the worst part? I never even got to say goodbye." Kon's shoulders slumped._

 _"Why did you not say goodbye?" Sandy stood and joined her friend._

 _"Tana's family blamed me. They didn't want me anywhere near the funeral. But the part that hurt the most, was when her mom looked right in my eyes and told me I might's well have killed her myself."_

 _"You left Hawaii shortly after?"_

 _"Didn't feel like home anymore." Kon returned to the oak and sat, covering his face in his hands._

 _Sandy knelt beside her slumping friend. "Have you ever gone to her gravesite?"_

 _"Her family won't let me visit."_

 _"What would she want?"_

 _"You heard Mrs. Kent. I can't leave Kansas."_

 _Sandy cupped Kon's chin and lifted his head so they were making eye contact. "You are Superboy. You can do anything."_

 _A small smile appeared on Kon's lips. "Thank you."_

 _Suddenly Sandy was in Kon's arms again and they were back in the air. "Where are…we? Is that planet Earth below us? Are we in outer space?" Sandy did not have freak outs, but if she did, they might feel like she's feeling now._

 _"Yes that's planet Earth. Not quite outer, we're still technically in Earth's atmosphere." Kon was now just holding Sandy's hand, enjoying her reaction._

 _"How am I still alive? How am I able to breathe?" Sandy wanted answers._

 _"Ever the detective, Batman would be proud if he could hear you now. To answer both questions, telekinesis. Have you noticed any atmospheric differences?"_

 _"No, temperature and air feel the same."_

 _Kon lifted his hand. "Look."_

 _And Sandy could see it now that she was focused on it. A faint, bluish aura that surrounded them, a lot like the one she saw when they were on the cloud. "Your TK field?"_

 _"Yep, I brought some of the surrounding atmosphere up with us. Not enough to last very long, but I figured not many people get to see this, but you should be one that does. Look at her." Kon_ pointed _towards the Earth. "Amazing isn't she." Kon said, looking right at Sandy. "She is beautiful." Kon was still looking right at Sandy._

 _"Yes she is." Sandy answered looking at the Earth._

 _"Look over there." Kon pointed to a spot on the Earth's surface. "See it"_

 _"Is that an island in the Pacific?"_

 _"Not just any island, that's the Big Island of Hawaii. We're going to Hilo, it was her hometown. It's were she's….."_

 _"Lead the way, Super…..Man." Sandy said with a smile._

 _"Love it when you call me that. Makes me feel all. Super."_

 _Later:_

 _A young man carrying Ohia tree blossoms of varying colors knelt down in front of a headstone in the shape of a gothic cross with a crying angel sitting atop. The young man placed the blossoms at the foot of the headstone and read the inscription. A quote_ "How can people make a decision, if they don't have the truth?" _was written on the headstone._

 _"I remember you saying that all the time, guess it's why we got along so good. We were both all about fighting for truth and justice." "Brought your favorites." The young man pointed to the blossoms. "Lehua blossoms from an Ohia tree, the one where we wrote our names, and you told me the story of how they got those names."_

 _Standing several feet back, Sandy listened to her friend speak to his lost love's grave. She knew Batman would also visit and speak to his deceased parents graves though she never understood_ the _purpose. But it seemed to help Batman so Sandy hoped this would help Kon come out of the funk she found him in._

 _"One day Pele met a handsome warrior named Ohia and she asked him to marry her. The problem was Ohia had already pledged his love to Lehua. Pele was furious when Ohia turned down her marriage proposal, so she turned Ohia into a twisted tree. Lehua was heartbroken. The gods took pity on Lehua and decided it was an injustice to have Ohia and Lehua separated. So, they turned Lehua into a flower on the Ohia tree, so that the two lovers would be forever joined together."_

 _Kon knelt and hugged the stone cross and wept openly. "I'm sorry Tana, I'm so sorry. For everything. For not appreciating you and what we had. For not saving you. But most of all, for not being brave enough to come visit you for so long."_

 _Kon stood and kissed the top of the stone cross. "I met you the first day I busted out of Cadmus. You were my first friend, my first kiss, my first…everything." Kon took a steading breath and a step back._

 _"Promise I'll visit more often."_

 _Sandy came and stood next to Kon taking his hand into her own. "What other firsts did you two share?"_

 _"Shaved ice, swimming on the beach, surfing, oh and Tana took me to my first reggae concert and taught me how to dance." Kon told Sandy as the two young friends took to the air._

 _"I never understood the point of dancing."_

 _"Lucky you, I can hear a family BBQ not far, and they're playing reggae." Kon informed Sandy._

 _"We can't just…."_

 _"Trust me"_

There he is _Sandy though, seeing the sparkle back in his eyes, the enthusiasm back his voice, and most of all that roguish smile back on his face. "Always."_

" _Besides, you haven't lived if you've never been to a Luau."_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 _The curtains were pulled back allowing sunlight into Kon's room, stirring Sandy from her slumber. "Mm, Kon, shut the curtains." Sandy turned from the light and put an arm over her eyes._

 _"Connor is out helping Jonathan get the chores done."_

 _Sandy's eyes opened wide and she was quickly on her feet looking at the woman standing by the window. "Mrs. Kent, I…It's not what you think."_

 _Martha Kent gave Sandy an amused smile as she walked toward her. "Oh, shall I tell you what I think?" Before Sandy could reply, she continued. "I think you came late last night and were hiding in Connor's closet, listening in on our conversation, and then talked Connor into doing what I asked him not to do and leave Kansas." Mrs. Kent stopped in front of Sandy. "Sound right?"_

I am a ninja, criminals tremble before me. So why does this tiny farmer's wife seem, so formidable _Sandy thought. "Well, I…"_

 _"Thank you." Mrs. Kent wrapped her arms around Sandy in a hug._

 _"Um, you're, welcome." Sandy slowly one arm hugged Mrs. Kent back._

 _"We've been trying to get Connor to open up for so long. Me, Jonathan, Clark, even Lois, bless her heart, gave it a shot." Mrs. Kent released Sandy and moved back. "I don't know how you did it, but thank you."_

 _"I just…." Sandy was interrupted by a gurgling sound, and looked at Mrs. Kent._

 _"Hungry?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"Breakfast?"_

 _"Thank you."  
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" _I think I have some pancake batter from earlier if you're still hungry, dear?"_

" _Yes please." Sandy replied through a mouth full of scrambled eggs._

" _I guess being Batgirl means you burn a lot of calories." Mrs. Kent began pouring batter into a hot frying pan._

 _Sandy stopped eating, put her fork down, swallowed, and looked at the other woman. "You know who I am?"_

 _Mrs. Kent continued cooking the pancakes, never turning to look at Sandy. "Oh don't worry dear. Bruce thinks you're trustworthy, and that's good enough for me."_

" _You, know…."_

" _The identity of Batman?" Mrs. Kent turned to Sandy. "Yes dear." Mrs. Kent turned back to the pancakes._

" _You know him?"_

" _Bruce has been to the farm a few times to visit, and he attended Lois and Clark's wedding." Mrs. Kent put a fourth pancake on a plate and came to the table. ""He hasn't been over much lately."_

" _Because of Kon?" Sandy took the plate full of pancakes and began putting butter and maple syrup on them._

 _Mrs. Kent let out a breath. "Let me just say, I am very grateful to Bruce for everything he's done for Clark and for helping create Connor's identity." Mrs. Kent looked Sandy in the eyes. "But he needs to get over himself and stop being such a pompous jackass when it comes to Connor."_

 _Sandy swallowed and looked at Mrs. Kent, stoic as ever._

" _I know he's your mentor and that you respect him. As well you should, Bruce is a good man who's doing his best to keep his city safe. And I respect that." Mrs. Kent looked away. "I just don't agree with his attitude toward Connor." Mrs. Kent returned to the stove. "I understand his reasoning, but I don't agree with it." Mrs. Kent turned and looked at Sandy. "And neither do you."_

" _What makes you think I would defy my mentor?"_

" _You're here, and Bruce hasn't called yet. I'm guessing Barbara probably had something to do with that."_

 _Sandy smirked and went back to her food. "Oracle has a way with him. Much like you, I think."_

" _Must be a ginger thing. So tell me, Sandy, what do you see in Connor?"_

" _Warmth." Sandy was surprised by how comfortable she felt with Mrs. Kent, and decided to speak her mind. "When I am with Kon, I feel warm and safe. He, is like my sun, shinning so bright he keeps darkness away."_

" _You know how powerful he is?" Mrs. Kent returned to the table with another plate full of pancakes._

 _Sandy nodded, remembering the castle he had made the night before out of a cloud, and the way he toyed with a powerful adversary like Black Wind._

" _Can you think of anyone that would be more trustworthy of such power?" Mrs. Kent pushed the plate full of pancakes toward Sandy._

" _No"_

" _Not even Bruce?"_

" _Not even." Sandy began cutting her pancakes._

" _Then you understand?"_

" _Understand what?"_

" _Connor is going to touch the lives of so many, not just through his actions but by his example, and not just as a man, but as a symbol."_

" _A symbol of what?" Sandy turned from the pancakes to look at Mrs. Kent._

" _Hope."_

Hope? Is that what I feel when I am with him? Hope? _Sandy thought. "He makes me believe, that a brighter tomorrow lies on the horizon."  
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" _Another helping dear?" Mrs. Kent poured some of her newly mixed batter into the frying pan._

 _"Yes, please. Your breakfast is as good as Alfred's." Sandy took the last bite of her fourth helping._

 _"Pft, Mom's cooking kicks Alfred's cooking's ass any time, any place, any where." Kon appeared with Mr. Kent, chores complete._

 _"Language." Mrs. Kent held up a plate full of pancakes, never turning from the stove._

 _"Sorry." Kon appeared by Mrs. Kent's side. "Thanks." Kon took the plate. "Did you use a new conditioner? Hair looks great." Kon kissed Mrs. Kent on the cheek and appeared in the chair next to Sandy with the plate full of pancakes in a matter of seconds._

 _Sandy stabbed the six pancakes with her fork and placed them on her plate. "Thank you."_

 _"Motherfu…. fine breakfast you made." Kon turned toward the Kents who were both giving him death glares._

 _Sandy looked at her plate, and noticed there were only three pancakes. She looked at Kon's plate and there were the other three._

 _"Sharing is caring." Kon winked at her._

 _"I have enough batter for a few more." Mrs. Kent added._

 _"Your terms are agreeable to me." Sandy began eating as Mrs. Kent poured the batter in the stove._

 _"Honey, is she Kryptonian, too?" Mr. Kent gave Mrs. Kent a kiss on the cheek._

" _No, why?" Mrs. Kent followed her husband's gaze to the eating youths._

 _"She eats like him."_

 _"I know." Mrs. Kent smiled. "I like her."  
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" _You know I could've done all the dishes myself in like, four seconds right?" Kon handed a freshly cleaned plate to Sandy._

" _Mrs Kent was very kind and breakfast was good." Sandy took the plate from Kon and rinsed it. "I would like to repay her generosity." She put the plate on the drain rake with the others._

" _Yeah, except now I'm stuck doing it the slow way. Real generous of you Mother Theresa." Kon handed Sandy some silverware._

" _Mrs. Kent agreed with me. And she is right, it is good for you to do things slowly sometimes like the rest of us. You will appreciate your power more, and deepen your understanding of non-powered humans." Sandy placed the rinsed silverware in the drain rake. "And your analogy makes no sense. Mother Theresa was a nun, I am a ninja….You are being sarcastic."_

" _Nothing gets past you detective." Kon laughed. "Oh yeah, definitely Batman's apprentice." Kon was bent over the sink laughing._

" _You will pay for that."_

" _Oh, and what pray tell is the ninja gonna do to the Kryptonian?" Kon stepped closer to Sandy. "Gonna use those lethal lips on me again?"_

 _Sandy had a half smile on her face as she cupped Kon's cheek with one hand, and lowered his face to hers. But instead of kissing him, she brought her lips to his ear and whispered. "I'll tell Mrs. Kent about the magazines you keep under your mattress."_

" _How did you….We can work something out…You're beautiful."_

" _Hm, your pupils dilate when you are afraid. Kryptonians are not so different after all."_

" _Are you, being sarcastic?"_

" _We can of course work something out. Beginning with you doing the rest of the dishes, on your own, the slow way." Sandy turned her back on Kon and began walking out of the kitchen._

 _Kon watched Sandy walk away shaking his head. "That's my Sandy."_

 _Sandy turned the corner, with the sides of her mouth almost reaching her ears._ Your Sandy? No, you are my Kon _Sandy thought. Her Kon? She liked the sound of that.  
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" _May I come in?" Sandy stood at the open door leading into the Kent's bedroom._

" _Yes, come in dear." Mrs. Kent turned to face Sandy holding up a white dress. "What do you think?"_

" _It is a dress."_

" _Yes dear, and.."_

" _It is white."_

" _And.."_

" _I am not sure where you are going with this."_

" _Definitely Batman's apprentice." Mrs. Kent began laughing._ I thought she was only his adoptive mother _Sandy thought. "Are you sure you are not Kon-El's human genetic donor?"_

" _Not that I know of dear." Mrs. Kent wiped her eyes and put her glasses back on. "I needed that." Mrs. Kent held the dress up to a second time Sandy. "It'll fit."_

" _I fail to see why that is relevant?"_

" _You can wear it tonight, to Connor's school dance. It's 50's theme so this will work." Mrs. Kent handed the dress to Sandy and began rummaging through her closet._

" _Why would Kon and I attend a school dance?"_

" _Well, you don't have to dear, but I already told Connor he's going. He needs to socialize with kids his own age. It'll be good for him; for you too dear." Mrs. Kent came back holding up a pair of matching white shoes._

" _Mrs. Kent, I…"_

" _Like I said, dear, you don't have to go." Mrs. Kent took the dress back. "Connor can go with Dawn instead."_

" _Who is Dawn?"_

" _A girl in Connor's school. I believe she's captain of the cheerleading squad." Mrs. Kent went back to her closet. "A little shorter than you, more petite, blonde hair."_

 _Mrs. Kent hung the dress back up. "She was homecoming queen this year, broke up with her boyfriend the captain of the football team recently, and has taken a shine to Connor. Even asked him to tonight's dance. I guess they can…"_

" _Give me the dress and shoes." Sandy was beside Mrs. Kent so fast it made her do a double take. "I will take Kon to his dance, and speak with this, Dawn."_

" _Of course dear."  
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" _Yo Sandy."_

 _Sandy turned to Kon. "Why does your voice sound that way, why are dressed that way, and why is your hair shinny?"_

 _"Cause you're Sandy and I'm Danny, it's a fifties theme dance, duh, and I put grease in it." Kon joined Sandy and Mrs. Kent on the porch._

 _"You look great Connor." Mrs. Kent beamed. "Just one more piece to the puzzle and you'll make Travolta jealous of your Danny."_

 _"Who is Danny? And why does he prefer black instead of blue jeans?" Sandy looked from mother to son._

 _"From Grease, and you'd have to ask Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey that." Kon rolled a pack of gum into one of the sleeves of his white t-shirt._

 _"Engine grease or the kind you make from a slaughtered animal, and who are the two people you've mentioned?"_

 _Mrs. Kent looked at Kon. "Is she serious?"_

 _Tears were coming out of Kon's eyes and his laughter was loud and booming. "Welcome to my world." Kon's laughter continued._

 _"Kon."_

 _"Yeah?"_

" _Magazines."_

 _Kon's laughter ended. "It's a musical from 1971 created by Jacobs and Casey, considered a classic by many, Sandy and Danny are the leads, did I tell you your hair looks great by the way."_

 _"Dear, if you're trying to black mail Connor, there's no need. I know about the magazines in his bed."_

 _"Oh come on, not cool." Kon's covered his eyes with one hand. "How did you even know…."_

 _"You're not the first teenage boy I've raised."_

 _Kon placed both hands on Mrs. Kent's shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. "You mean Clark, Boy Scout Clark, pillar of morality Clark…" Kon took his hands of his mother's shoulders and fist bumped the sky laughing. "Your ass is mine, big brother!"_

 _"Clark does not know I know and he will continue to not know, Connor Kent. Are we clear?" Mrs. Kent put her hands on her hips._

 _"Yeah right, you give me ammo like that and expect me not to use it?"_

 _"Shall I introduce Sandy to Mr. Quackers?"_

Hm, his eyes are dilated again _Sandy thought._

 _"How did you? Please, I'm begging you. You're the best mom ever. Oh hey I hear dad driving back from town, I'll go get him." Kon vanished._

 _"Mr. Quackers?"_

 _"Connor's rubber duck, he takes baths with."_

 _"The mighty Kryptonian, takes baths with a rubber duck?"_

 _Mrs. Kent nodded. "He even has a bath time song he sings with Mr. Quackers."_

 _Slowly Sandy began laughing, her laughter becoming louder was soon joined by Mrs. Kent's.  
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_Kon landed in front of the farmhouse and set the Kent's truck down gently. "Another smooth landing courtesy of Air Superboy." Kon opened the door to let Mr. Kent out and held one hand out. "Thank you, come again, and remember tips are greatly appreciated."_

 _"Ha ha smart ass, here." Mr. Kent threw a leather jacket at Kon. "Put it on."_

 _"Missing piece." Mrs. Kent pulled out her camera. "Come stand next to Sandy Connor so I can get some pictures."_

 _Kon put the jacket on. "Just cause I agreed to go to the dance, does not mean I'm posing for pictures."_

 _"You know Mr. Quackers is not the only thing I could tell Sandy about." Mrs. Kent put her hand on her hips._

 _Kon turned to Mr. Kent. "Dad?"_

 _Mr. Kent shrugged. "Don't look at me."_

 _Kon super sped to Sandy's side. "Fine, take your pictures."_

 _"I did not agree to pictures." Sandy crossed her arms._

 _"I'm sure Dawn would come over for pictures." Mrs. Kent aimed her camera._

 _"Fine, take your pictures." Sandy stood a little closer to Kon and whispered. "Your mother is quite the extortionist."_

 _Kon stood behind Sandy wrapping his arms around her waist, and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Welcome to my world."_

 _"Oh that's a good one." Mrs. Kent continued taking pictures._

 _"Honey, don't want them to be late." Mr. Kent pointed to his watch._

 _"Right, right." Mrs. Kent put her camera away and gave Kon a hug. "Have a good time sweetie, and thank you for going with him Sandy." Mrs. Kent released Kon and gave Sandy a hug as well._

 _"Are we taking the truck?" Sandy pointed at the Kent's truck._

 _Kon picked Sandy up bridal style. "Nope, Air Superboy is ready to for lift off, next stop, Smallville High." Kon took to the skies. "If you're good maybe I'll make you another castle in the sky, and if you're naughty I'll totally…"_

 _"Kon, shut up."_

 _"Shutting up your Batness, and Sandy."_

 _Sandy turned to Kon. "Yes?"_

 _"Thanks."_

 _"For what?"_

 _"For being here, I didn't want to go, but since I'm going. I'm glad it's with you."_

 _"Not Dawn?" Sandy asked and looked away._

 _"She's nice and all, but I have a problem with Dawn."_

 _"What problem?" Sandy turned back to Kon._

 _"She's not you." Kon landed near his school and set Sandy down. "Ready?" Kon offered Sandy his hand._

 _"Lead the way Super…Man." Sandy took Kon's hand. "I am ready to try this dancing thing."_

 _Sandy and Kon walked hand in hand toward Smallville High's Valentine's Day dance._

13


End file.
